Public urged to expose Budget gaps

The Tories will invite the public to help them expose the gaps in the Budget,
David Cameron has said.

The financial statement will be published on the Conservative website so that voters can help the party find out what is hidden in the small print, the Tory leader said.

As he announced the move to harness the power of the internet, he accused Labour of running out of ideas for the country, and mocked Chancellor Alistair Darling ‘s comment on Sunday that the Budget would be “workmanlike”.

At a regular Westminster press conference this morning, Mr Cameron said the Tories were going to “crowd-source” the Budget. “Instead of just picking over the small print ourselves we want to throw open that process so that everyone who wants to can dig around to see what Labour are hiding,” he said.

The Budget, the last before the general election expected on May 6, would be published on the Tory website in an “easily-readable” format,” he said.

Mr Cameron said: “Labour’s workmanlike, defeatist, do-nothing attitude to government is the last thing we need today. The country is crying out for urgency, for energy, for vision and for action.”

He restated Tory demands for immediate reductions in the annual budget deficit, insisting it was “completely wrong” to say any cuts now would tip the country back into recession.